Political assistants, who have long come under fire for failing to justify their generous salaries, will have their pay drastically cut in July in response to a public outcry, while ministers will get a pay rise of 8.1 per cent.
Under the plan approved by the Executive Council last Tuesday, the monthly salary of political assistants will be capped at HK$100,000, down from the current level of between HK$134,000 and HK$164,000.
Announcing the revised salary package, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen said yesterday the pay cut was in response to criticism four years ago that the political assistants were overpaid.
'Political assistants usually stay out of the limelight and are not well-known among members of the public. It was sometimes difficult for them to get in touch with lawmakers for lobbying jobs, too,' he said. 'Some legislators did not even take phone calls from political assistants. The problem was only solved after more senior officials made the calls.'
He said the role of the political assistants would also be adjusted, with a stronger emphasis on reaching out to different sectors of society, instead of facing inwards to do government lobbying work.
Under the shake-up plan of chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying, each policy bureau can hire a flexible number of political assistants with a monthly budget of HK$100,000.
Nine political assistants were appointed in 2008 to serve policy secretaries, but they were immediately criticised as overpaid novices.